Automatic fire-extinguisher



(No Model.) 4

0. C.` BARBER. AUTMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

No. 473,442. Patented Apr. 26, 1892,

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

OHIO C. BARBER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMATIC FIRE-EXTINGUISHER.

SPECIFICATION Iorming part of Letters Patent No. 473,442, dated April26, 1892.

Application filed March 30. 1891. Serial No. 386.916. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, OHIO C. BARBER, a citizen ot' the United States,residing at Chicago,

in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have .invented a certainnew and useful Improvement in Automatic Fire-Extinguishers, of which thefollowing is a specification.

Myinvention has relation to improvements in that class of automatictire-extinguishers in which water under` pressure is held in a tube by acap retained in place through intermediate mechanism by a fusiblelocking` device, the fusing of which releases said mechanism and cap.

The object of my invention is to provide new, improved, and simplemechanism for the aforesaid purpose, which shall readily and completelyseparate and oder no other obstacle to the free discharge of the water.

My invention consists in the peculiar and novel constuction,arrangement, and combination of parts hereinafter described7 and thenspecifically claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,which form a part of this specification.

Figure lis an elevation of my improved fire-extinguisher; Fig. 2, acentral longitudinal section of the same at the line c cc; Fig. 3, asimilar view of a part. of the same, showing a modified device forretaining the truss-braces; and Fig. 4, a top elevation of the retainingdevice shown in Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, A is a metallic yoke having a tubularscrew-threaded proj ection B to connect it with 4the water-supply pipe,inside of which is an inner tube C, pret'- erably of glass, for apurpose to be shown, extending slightly within the yoke. At the oppositeend of the yoke, passing through a screw-threaded opening therein and inalign- Inent with the tube C is a thumbscrew D, bearing on its inner enda revoluble head E, having in its lower face a recess to constitute anabutment for vthe truss-braces hereinafter described.

Inside the yoke is a spreader F, for a purpose to be stated, which has acentral screwthreaded orifice, through which the screw D passes and bywhich it is retained in place, and side notches G, which receive theinner edges of the yoke and prevent lateral movement. This spreaderconsists of a metallic On the tube C is a close-fitting cap H, having inits outer face a recess to constitute an abutment for the truss-bracessimilar to that in the head E, and by having the tube C of glass alldanger of sticking from corrosion between the parts is avoided.

Interposed between the head E and cap II are four truss-braces I,similar in shape and size, each consisting of a short fiat strip ofmetal, Vthe upper ends of the upper pair resting in the recess of thehead E and the lower ends of the lower pair in the recess of the cap Il.The members of each pair incline diagonally from each other, with theirouterA ends in juxtaposition with the outer ends of the members ot' theopposite pair. Surrounding the adjacent ends of opposite pairs is a linkJ, having on its inside a ridge K, constituting an abutment againstwhich said ends rest. The screw D being raised the parts are looselyplaced in position and the screw turned down until the parts are firmlypressed together. These parts are thus securely forced and held inposition by the screwD, and thereby constitute a truss that retains thecap H on the tube C. The link J is ot' metal that fuses at a much lowertemperature than the other metals and may be constructed of twooverlapping strips of ordinary metal united by a fusible solder, andhence when exposed to heat from a tire in a room the ring or the solder,as the case may be, fuses and permits the truss-braces I to iiy apart,thereby releasing the cap H and permitting the water to flow.

In the modification shown in Fig. 3, which illustrates so much of theapparatus as shows its application, the upper ends of the upper pair oftruss-braces `I rest in a recess in the under face of the spreader F andthe outer ends of each set rest in spaces formed between the metallicblocks N N and the metallic straps L L, which are severally united toeach side ot the blocks by a fusible solder, similar to that used in theformer device. The blocks N N are provided with right and left handscrew-threaded orices, in which meshes the right and left hand screw M,by turning which TOO the parts are firmly braced, as in the yother case.By the fusing of the solder the parts separate, as in the other case.

I claim as my invention l. In a fire-extinguisher, the combination, witha yoke having a Water-supply tube opening through one end thereofprovided With a cap and the opposite end supporting an abutment, of tWopairs of braces, one pair resting at one end against said abutment andthe ends of the other pair against said cap, the members of each pairextending diagonally from each other and their ends in juxtapositionWith the ends of the opposite pair, and a fusible attachment uniting theadjacent ends of adjacent braces, substantially as shown and described.

2. In an automatic fire-extinguisher, the yoke A, the supply-pipe C,and4 the cap H, arranged to close it and the spreader F, and the screwD, passing through it. and the head E, connected with the inner end ofsaid screw,

and the fusible link D, combined with the four braces I, arranged inpairs, the ends of adjacent pairs resting against the head and cap,respectively, and their opposite ends resting against supports in thefusible link J all constructed and arranged substantially as shown anddescribed.

3. The combination, With the head E, the cap H, and the braces I,arranged in pairs and having one end ofeach pair arranged to restagainst said head and cap, respectively, of the fusible link J, havinginner ridges K to constitute abutments for the opposite ends of saidbraces, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the above I hereunto set my hand.

OHIO C. BARBER.

